Mano del Desierto, Sculpture in Antofagasta Region, Chile
The Mano del Desierto is an 11-metre reinforced-concrete hand with an iron and concrete base, standing at 1,100 metres above sea level beside Route 5, about 75 km south of Antofagasta and 300 to 450 metres off the highway near the La Negra business park. Its exaggerated size is said to stress human vulnerability and helplessness.
Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal created the monumental work in 1992 with funding from Corporación Pro Antofagasta to promote artistic dialogue about human presence in harsh landscapes and became part of his international series of similar sculptures.
The sculpture symbolizes human isolation and vulnerability within the endless Atacama Desert and has become a symbol of the relationship between civilization and extreme natural isolation in northern Chile.
From Antofagasta, take Route 28 east to La Negra, then Route 5 south for about 48 km; a signed dirt road turns west to the sculpture, 450 m from the highway. The work stands 300 m off Route 5, near the La Negra business city and between highway markers 1309 and 1310.
The same sculptor, Mario Irarrázabal, made a similar hand in the sand at Brava beach in Punta del Este in 1982, and others in Madrid's Juan Carlos I park, Puerto Natales and Venice. The Antofagasta hand was funded by Corporación Pro Antofagasta, which still cleans it.
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